TheLoop21.com

By: Marvin King (Add to your loop)
Wed, 02/10/2010 - 09:39

Students know very little of the true horrors of slavery and Jim Crow.

Read the rest of our content in the series, 'Why is Black history segregated'?

As Susan Anderson wrote earlier at The Loop21.com, Black History Month is "for Americans to learn what had been left out of their history textbooks and newspapers concerning African Americans." That should still be the goal, but we should reach even beyond that.

In order for it to tangibly benefit the Black community, I propose that every Black History Month activity compel participants to engage in dialogue designed to improve the Black community. Education and civic engagement must be the vital core of Black History Month.

Activists should use Black History Month as planning time for the rest of the year. They should use it as an opportunity for local communities to develop specific action plans on how to tackle their particular programs.

Best of all, this approach will make yesterday's history relevant to the next generations. The saying that we all "stand on the shoulders of giants," provides the main argument for Black History Month. The work of those past giants provides guidance and perspective on how to beat both today's problems and prepare for tomorrow's challenges.

This February, Americans will learn about the history and hurdles of African Americans. This is critical because despite legislative mandates, most students, regardless of their race, have little grasp of the true horrors of slavery and Jim Crow, much less the true heroism it took to overcome those stains.

Remaining uninformed is an insult to those who lived through the pain of those times and valiantly fought to overcome it. At worst, it is an admission of ignorance. There is surely always more to learn, but the key is to continue doing so.

A key reason the Supreme Court overturned separate but equal in Brown v. Board of Education is because the justices found that segregation imposed self-doubt and undeserved humility on generations of Black schoolchildren. Celebrating achievements during Black History Month is important in erasing low self-esteem issues imposed on the Black community for centuries. However, we cannot just fixate on the past. A successful Black community must be a forward-looking community.

America's HBCUs, fighting to stay alive in places like Mississippi, must take the lead in turning Black History Month from an endless series of repetitive panels to actionable forums where we gather ideas on solving contemporary problems and act on them. After all, Tavis Smiley can't solve all our problems.

Marvin King is an assistant professor of political science at the University of Mississippi and writes the blog King Politics.

Read the rest of our content in the series, 'Why is Black history segregated'?

Are American students taught enough about the Black role in American history?

Yes, it has improved

Maybe, in some places

No, that's pretty obvious

I don't know

Does it even matter?